Whereas, the Obama administration is committed to pursue diplomatic means to resolve its dispute with Iran over its nuclear program; and

Whereas, a bipartisan group of forty-seven senators issued an open letter to the Iranian government repudiating any agreement that might be reached and seeking to sabotage the negotiations and provoke a confrontation with Iran, and in so doing undermine the president in the conduct of his responsibility to conduct the foreign policy of the U.S. which is constitutionally defined as the exclusive responsibility of the executive branch; and

Whereas, this action arguably violates the Logan Act which forbids unauthorized citizens from negotiating with foreign governments having a dispute with the U.S.; and

Whereas, House Speaker John Boehner invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress on the eve of the Israeli election to enable him to publicly campaign against the president’s policy of pursuing a diplomatic course with Iran, thereby allowing a foreign leader to intervene in the internal affairs of the U.S. in violation of international law and the United Nations Charter; and

Whereas, U.S. the State Department acknowledges in its annual reports that Israel violates the human rights of Palestinians; and

Whereas, nonetheless the U.S. treats Israel as a “special case” in its foreign relations, providing uncritical support, diplomatic impunity and guaranteed military protection to it, using the US veto authority at the U.N. Security Council to prevent adoption of resolutions that condemn Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian lands, its apartheid-like treatment of Palestinians, and its military aggression against the Palestinian people, all in violation of the U.N. Charter and international law; and

Whereas, the U.S. gives Israel, which the IMF identifies as the 25th richest nation in the world, more than $3 billion per year in US foreign aid and 55% of all US foreign military aid; therefore

Be it resolved that U.S. Labor Against the War supports the Obama administration’s decision to pursue diplomatic means to resolve the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program and to reject pressure to pursue a course of conduct that would almost certainly lead to war with Iran; and

Be it furtherresolved that USLAW strongly condemns the bi-partisan group of forty-seven senators for their effort to subvert the negotiations with Iran and also to undermine the president in his conduct of U.S. foreign policy; and

Be it further resolved that USLAW calls upon our government to enforce the Leahy law which prohibits sending arms to any foreign military known to commit human rights violations; and

Be it further resolved that USLAW calls on the president to end Israel’s special status in U.S. foreign policy and cease using its veto at the U.N. Security Council to prevent adoption of resolutions critical of Israeli behavior; and

Be it finally resolved that a copy of this resolution be sent to all USLAW affiliates, President Obama, members of Congress and the AFL-CIO with a request for concurrence and appropriate action.